Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, has prohibited the mining of digital currencies like Bitcoin till 22 September 2021. This ban was a consequence of massive power blackouts and worsening air quality in multiple cities of Iran.
President Rouhani, while addressing the nation on state television on Wednesday, said that,
The certified mining of cryptocurrencies consumes just 300 megawatts, however, it is illegal for crypto miners that utilize a lot of electricity of about 2,000 megawatts, around 85% of the current mining in Iran is unlicensed
Iran began nationalizing its crypto mining sector back in 2020 after months of observing illegal crypto mining activities. In January 2020, the country issued about 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining in the country.
In May, reports surfaced of Iranian intelligence on the chase for illegal large-scale crypto mining operations. Illicit Crypto excavators have been connected to total blackouts in the country.
Around 4.5% of all bitcoin mining happens in Iran, permitting the nation to procure a considerable number of dollars in digital forms of money that could be used to purchase imports and diminish the effect of authorizations, At its current level of mining, Iran’s bitcoin production would amount to revenues close $1 billion a year.
The anticipation of cheap power in Iran has pulled miners, particularly from China. Generating the electricity they use requires the equivalent of around 10 million containers of crude oil a year or 4% of total Iranian oil exports in 2020.
Meanwhile, miners in North America are exploring methods to progress towards more environmentally friendly regulations.
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